1880-O $1 MS PL

Key to Collecting: All 1880-O dollars are from the reverse of 1879 with rounded eagle’s breast and slanted top arrow feathers. A number of dies were overdated and show small traces of earlier digits. These have not created much attention in the marketplace, save for dyed-in-the-wool specialists. Certification reports are unreliable regarding overdates, as many coins were graded without checking for this feature. Since the 1970’s and 1980’s, the swing has been to certification for higher-grade Morgan dollars, and “sliders” are mostly called AU-55 or AU-58 now.

Surface Quality: Striking varies from strong to soft, but most are above average. Again, points to check are the hair above Liberty’s ear and the feathers on the eagle’s breast. Cherryp icking is recommended. Luster varies from satiny to “greasy,” but is generally satisfactory.

Prooflike Coins: Some dies are prooflike; such coins are usually quite attractive if relatively free from bagmarks. Those with DMPL surfaces are elusive.

Mintage and Distribution: Seemingly, many 1880-O dollars were placed into circulation, remained there for just a short time, and then were returned to storage, apparently at the New Orleans Mint itself. About 1946 some Uncirculated bags were released, making the issue plentiful, although before the 1880-O was not considered to be a rare date. Other bags emerged from hiding circa 1956 or 1957, and in the Treasury release in 1962 the issue was well represented. However, it was never plentiful in bag quantities on the numismatic market.

For the 1880-O two different sizes and styles of mintmarks were used. The small mintmark, perfectly round in its outside outline, is thick and heavy, and has a relatively small interior space with the left and right sides not being parallel. The larger mintmark is also round in its exterior outline, but interior is narrow, sometimes with nearly parallel left and right interior surfaces. These mintmark sizes have not been widely collected. One variety, VAM-39, has a small o mintmark tilted measurably to the right.

Varieties with traces of the overdate include VAM-4 (80 Over 79) and VAM-5, 6, 6A, and 6B, all these being listed in The Top 100 Morgan Dollar Varieties, as are two “Hangnail” varieties, from a tiny die gouge, VAM-1A and 6B, both of which have overdate features. VAM-43 has slight doubling on Liberty’s ear and eyelid.